Leo and the Last Night of InBetween
by ElizabethBella
Summary: Complete/1-shot Leo and Piper were separated again for the Final Battle. This is what happened to Leo and Cole, Pru, etc. - while the girls were in the final battle. Please R/R!


_I don't own **Charmed**, in any way, shape or form. If I did, man, things would have been a lot different. I'm just taking these characters out for a ride. _

_This is a standalone. A scene filler set between the Angel of Destiny taking Leo back after he and Piper change time. Why? Because the finale didn't address how Leo had been able to communicate with Wyatt while he had been flrozen. It also never dealt/tied up Cole or Prue. _

_I love feedback, reviews, any kind of sign that you've read the story and what you think and what you'd keep or change ... Thanks. It keeps me going.  
_

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"Shut up."

"And her shiny, shiny hair…"

"Shut UP."

"I'm just saying, Leo, there's something to be said for a feisty woman…"

"Cole? What is there about 'shut up' you don't understand?"

"What are you going to do, Leo? Make me? I mean, I know you're not thrilled to be back. Got to be very frustrating, right? So why don't you? Take a swing, I know you want to..."

Cole planted himself in front of Leo with a wicked grin. His fists up.

With a sigh, Leo walked though him down the hall. It was dimmer and bluer and colder, somehow, than the real thing. And, yes, he was pissed as hell to be back in it.

But whatever it took to get things straight and save the girls was worth another separation from his family.

Or so he told himself.

Leo jogged down the staircase and into the hallway off the front parlor.

Where he felt a slice of… something.

"Cole!" Leo shouted.

He spun around. Still alone. "Cole, dammit! Get your ass down here!"

In a blink, he was there. Leaning against the grandfather clock with his arms crossed. "Oh, sure, NOW you want me."

"What's going on?" Leo demanded.

Cole puffed in and out. Almost like a trick of the light. "The cavalry have arrived," he smirked.

Leo looked up in thought for a moment. "The boys? Both of them?" he asked, full of hope.

"Damn, he is taller than a sequoia. He could use Chris as a stepladder, Leo. Where'd he get those genes? Not you, surely. Must have been…that neighbor guy? The one that mysteriously disappeared? Now HE was tall, Leo."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Are they all right?"

Cole flashed again. "Oops, see, did they learn nothing from television? You mess with the space-time continuum and you got to pay the piper. Little joke there," Cole pointed out.

Leo gave him an arched look.

"The sequoia lost his powers," Cole explained. "They're heading to the baby versions to find out what happened."

"Right," Leo responded confidently. "They'll figure it out."

"Where have I heard that, before?" his former brother-in-law pondered. "Oh, that's right…practically every day of this misery."

"If it's such a misery, what are you still doing here, Cole?"

They shared a long look. Leo felt the realization shiver up his back. "This is it, isn't it?" he asked. "You've done something…"

"You've always had more faith than smarts, Leo," Cole dismissed. And then he winked out.

With a resigned expression, Leo exited, too – using his feet, and going out the door.

Striding across San Francisco to his father-in-law's condo was a long, quiet trek. It took over an hour for Leo to walk what he used to orb in an instant. Or drive in 20 minutes.

Cole wasn't corporeal here, but Leo's soul was.

He didn't remember what had happened just after they had Han Solo'd him into that block of ice. It had been nothingness. But one morning, he'd woken up. Realized he was waking up. There'd been a moment of joy – until he'd looked around and realized that he was in the spot and on the plane where Chris had been conceived.

It took some time to discover that he hadn't died – just somehow left his body and traveled to the in-between place unanchored souls go.

Leo had tried not interfere with those who were passing through. Tried to be a help, where he was needed. But it had been lonely.

Until the day Cole had misted in, sardonic smirk and all.

Cole wouldn't have been Leo's first selection of whom he would have chosen to spend endless months with. But it wasn't like Leo had been given a pick. And Cole had proved, in his own way, helpful. Bringing him news and contact along with his sarcasm.

_Ah, well._

Leo trudged up the stairs and out into the hallway. In this plane, Victor Bennet's condo was empty. But Leo heard muffled sounds behind the door.

Like the time Piper had felt her sister in her shoulder.

Leo could hear – not words really, but sort of echoes.

He exhaled with a smile. Opened the door and ignored the cool nothing. Walked directly into the guest room.

It felt like hours, but maybe it was only minutes. Before the hairs on his arm stood up. Before he felt their awareness. Like feeling someone watch you, and spinning around unable to see who it is.

Over the months, Leo had learned that this was the moment of knowing.

He grinned.

"Dad?" Wyatt called out on the plane of reality. The younger version of himself was smiling and looking at the doorway.

"Dad's here?" Chris asked.

"Mini-me thinks so," Wyatt pointed out.

"You know what? You're not supposed to have powers. How is it you're still sensing?"

"What, sensing? I know what I'm thinking, Chris. It IS me, you know!"

"But little Wyatt doesn't have powers either! This is just wrong, dammit. My mini-me isn't sensing anything. Your guy probably just has gas."

"Gas? Dude, I'm telling you – Dad's here."

"Dad? Really? Even if we're not alone, for all YOU know there's a demon standing there with a clown face on!"

"A demon with a… where do you get these things, man?"

"Hey, mini-Wyatt hasn't always shown the greatest taste in invisible friends. If Dad was right here, don't you think the full-powered mini-Chris would see first?"

"Your mini-me is practically a tadpole!"

"Big enough to save your ass, though!"

"Hey!" Victor interrupted, standing in the doorway with Patty just behind his shoulder. "You're upsetting the boys…" he waved his hand at the frowning preschoolers. "The junior ones. And it is after their bedtimes."

"Sorry, Grandpa," the two older versions murmured.

"Keep it down," he ordered, ducking back out with Patty right behind.

"When did you become such the authoritative parent?" she demanded with an admiring smile as they headed back into the living room.

"Grand-parent," Victor corrected, giving her a sideways look.

"It's strange to think of them together," Chris said, watching them walk down the hall. "I always think of Grandpa alone, or with one of those women he'd date for a while."

Wyatt nodded. "I can't imagine him not being there for mom and her sisters. It's like he was always around when we were little."

They both glanced at their smaller selves and then up to each other, as if to prove the point. Chris gave a small shrug and indicated the doorway with his chin. "Dad still here?"

"No…" Wyatt went still. Then looked in a corner behind the bed. "There," he pointed.

Chris looked at mini-Wyatt, who was smiling in that direction, and shook his head in annoyance. Then he noticed that mini-Chris was now staring that way, too. He squatted down and took his younger version's hand.

Into his mind he saw a flash, then another, then the room went darker. Like a blue gauze had been spread over everything. It was familiar, somehow. Like walking into a moment of deja-vu.

_Chris slowly turned his head and there, in the corner, was his dad._

_"Hi," he said softly._

_"Hi," Leo responded, his eyes shiny with tears of relief._

_"It's going to be OK," Chris told him._

_"That's my line," Leo gave a half-laugh, half-sob. "You're…good? Both of you?"_

_"Yeah, Dad," Chris caught all the meanings of the question. "We're good. Wyatt…"_

_"You'll get them back," Leo interrupted. "Your grandfather probably…"_

The baby Chris tugged his hand away from the older Chris and tried to reach for his father. Instead, the world suddenly went brighter by the bedside light. Small Wyatt gave a shout of frustration.

"He's gone," older Wyatt sighed. "What did he say?"

"You couldn't hear?" Chris' eyebrows rose in surprise.

Wyatt groaned in irritation.

"He says to talk to Grandad," Chris answered, heading for the door. Stopping short when he saw his grandparents sitting on the couch…cuddling.

"Oh, ugh…" Wyatt peeked over Chris' head and saw the same thing. "Maybe we get some juice or something from the kitchen first?"

"Loudly," Chris agreed.

"I could drop something," Wyatt promised.

In the cool azure plane of in-between, Leo Wyatt leaned against the wall and watched the empty room.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?" Cole answered, misting into the room.

Leo didn't answer.

"It's almost over," Cole said quietly, looking around.

The quiet stretched between them.

"You know," Leo told him after a while. "Before she met you, Phoebe had an encounter with a Cupid."

"Really?" Cole answered, as though he didn't care.

Leo nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. Felt his baby sons near.

"You weren't around for that," Cole told him.

"I've always been around," Leo corrected him gently. "Since the girls were born."

"And that's just _wrong_, Leo. You have tried therapy, right?"

Leo gave him a look. "Said the pot to the kettle?"

"Hey, I met Phoebe as an adult, a perfectly shaped…"

"Enough," Leo interrupted. "The point is, she had a day of irresistible love. Of falling for someone who was the very embodiment of romance and trust and affection. Who got her to see over the walls she'd made. And that what started her on the path of looking for a real relationship."

"Oh, really?" Cole stared off, pretending not to care.

"Which led her to you."

They gave each other a long look. Cole broke away first.

"Wonder why the Elders would openly send Phoebe a Cupid," Leo mused. "Considering Phoebe, considering what happened that first time, and considering how all Cupids carry a similar spirit, they'd have to know there was a big chance she would fall for Coop and not any of the possible matches he'd make. Unless that was the idea…"

"Gee, Leo, are you insinuating that someone could manipulate the Elders?"

"Gee, Cole, I wonder," Leo mocked.

"You know, you're not actually all that funny," Cole told him. "Or smart. And the sheer goodness thing is pretty damn annoying."

Leo waved off his complaints. "Is this guy gonna die, too?" he asked.

Cole looked momentarily startled and then shook his head.

"So it's for real? You're finally giving up?"

Cole shrugged. "What is it they say? Better luck next time?"

Leo felt a chill. "Oh," he said, suddenly understanding. "Cole, there's no guarantee…"

"There never is," Cole pointed out.

"You could end up right back…"

"I could," Cole agreed calmly.

"She'll have an entire lifetime with this pure soul…"

"That's the point, Leo."

Leo nodded. Reached out his senses. Felt a keening, a need to be back at the manor.

He stood up. "Well, I've got a long walk ahead of me," he announced, heading for the door.

"Walking," Cole scoffed, misting out of the room.

By the time Leo made it back to Prescott Street, he could sense a lightening in the sky. A vague feeling that the deepest part of the night had passed.

He stood in front of the pink Manor and looked up. The window he'd put in for baby Wyatt. The vines growing rampant. The shadows of what was so familiar.

He sat on the top step and rested.

"Hey," she said.

"Oh," Leo jumped. "Hey, you." He squinted, trying to get a good look. "Is your hair longer?"

Prue shrugged and sat down next to him. "So, Leo."

"So, Prue." They shared a crooked smile.

"How are you?"

"Sick of this place."

"I bet," she nodded. Leaning her elbows on her knees and giving him a sideways glance. "You'll be back together soon."

Leo nodded. He had the patience, but it was so hard not to be physically near Piper. All those hours he'd been with her racing back and forth through time and he'd been so consumed by her anger and grief that he'd forgotten to kiss her. Just one single, real kiss.

Leo wanted his wife. Wanted his life. Wanted to be back raising his children. Helping his students, whose world had been shattered and needed guidance, and healing. Rebuilding his truck.

It was his favorite existence, of the many he'd had as Leo Wyatt. His favorite years. It was challenging and frustrating and much more complicated in some ways than anything else he'd known over the past 80 years. But it was delicious.

Leo sighed. Then looked over at Prue and gave her a half-smile.

She gave him one in return. Both of them lost in thought.

"You know," she announced suddenly. "You're different. I think it's that I never expected you to grow older."

"Yeah," Leo dragged a hand through his hair self-consciously. "My reflection in the mirror keeps changing. But I like it. I like knowing Piper and I are going to go gray together."

"I'm not sure she'll be happy about the gray thing, but I know what you mean." Prue smiled.

"You're not here for me, are you?"

Prue startled. "You know?"

"I was an Elder and an Avatar, Prue. You don't think I spared a second to see how you were? What you'd decided?"

She nodded slowly, thinking. "I don't think I ever gave you enough credit, Leo. I don't think any of us did. I remember, when you and Piper went through your whole relationship… thing. I resented – a teeny bit – what having you around did to our little family."

"You never said anything."

"Well," she exhaled. "I'm glad I didn't, actually. You turned out to be a big part of what saved us. Especially when I…"

"Died?"

"Right. I did do that."

They shared the memory. The sadness seeping between them until Leo gently bumped Prue's shoulder with his own.

"I notice she didn't seek me during your little jaunt through time," she noted.

"She can barely look at your picture. Even now," Leo pointed out.

Prue nodded. Cupped her mouth in her hands as though trying to warm herself with her own breath.

"How about you?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

"All things considered? I actually am. It's interesting to build a whole new life after death."

Leo gave her a look of complete understanding. "And a whole new relationship?"

"How did you know?" she blushed, a bit.

"He stopped the world, to help you," Leo reminded his sister-in-law. "It was unprecedented."

"He didn't stop the world," she protested. "Just death. And he didn't want to take you, Leo."

"He said something like that."

"It's just our job," she promised. "And he was so relieved, we both were, that Piper found a way…"

"Me, too," Leo agreed. "And now, strangely enough, I'm guessing that if it's not me then you're here for Cole."

"Yes. Oh, the irony," Prue laughed.

"I'm pleased," Leo told her. "I suppose he'll find some unlucky demon to take out with him. He likes to die with a bang."

Prue chuckled. "He does, doesn't he?"

"It's a good thing. Cole's been haunting your sister for too long, stuck living this obsession for Phoebe's happiness."

"I know," Prue sighed. "But who'd have thought that Cole, of all people, would find a way get another chance?"

"His demon half is long dead," Leo mused. "Any remnants of the Source's powers or an Avatar's were destroyed in that other time. What's left, despite all his ill-gotten powers, is a mortal. A mortal who has done no evil since returning from purgatory."

"Except fixate on Phoebe."

"And heal her heart. And find her people to love."

"You were always the first to look for the good in people," she said.

"I rather think of it as acknowledging the good that is already there."

She nodded, giving him the point.

They stared off, over the houses across the street. Into the indigo sky.

"New day is coming," Leo observed.

"Sooner than we think," she agreed. "It's good to see you, Leo."

"You, too," he wrapped an arm around her and closed his eyes as they embraced. A wave of nostalgia as he remembered Prue, alive. Back in the day. Back when…

She pulled back and smiled, a little sadly. "Take care of our family," she instructed.

"Take care of yourself," he countered.

"I will." She pushed herself up and descended the steps. Not looking back. Turning left down the sidewalk and striding purposefully into the dusky dark.

He was alone again.

But now Leo knew, in his bones, that it was almost over. Whatever was going to happen, would happen soon.

Then the sun would come back into his life. Piper's kiss. The boys crying for him in the mornings. The work of the rest of their lives.

Leo relaxed back on his hands.

And waited.


End file.
